Thin-film piezoelectric-material element, method of manufacturing the same, head gimbal assembly and hard disk drive

ABSTRACT

A thin-film piezoelectric-material element includes a laminated structure part having a lower electrode film, a piezoelectric-material film laminated on the lower electrode film and an upper electrode film laminated on the piezoelectric-material film, a lower piezoelectric-material protective-film being formed with alloy material, and an upper piezoelectric-material protective-film being formed with alloy material. The piezoelectric-material film includes a size larger than the upper electrode film, a riser end-surface and step-surface formed on a top-surface of the upper electrode film side. The riser end-surface connects smoothly with a peripheral end-surface of the upper electrode film and vertically intersects with the top-surface. The step-surface intersects vertically with the riser end-surface. The lower piezoelectric-material protective-film, and the upper piezoelectric-material protective-film are formed with alloy material including Fe as main ingredient and having Co and Mo, by Ion beam deposition.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part application of applicationSer. No. 16/136,243, filed Sep. 19, 2018, the entire contents of whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a thin-film piezoelectric-materialelement which has a piezoelectric-material and electrodes havingthin-film like shape, method of manufacturing the thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element, head gimbal assembly and hard disk drivehaving the thin-film piezoelectric-material element.

Related Background Art

A hard disk drive has a large recording capacity and is used as theheart of a storage device. The hard disk drive records and reproducesdata to/from a hard disk (recording medium) by a thin-film magnetichead. A part, which the thin-film magnetic head is formed, is called asa head slider, and a part, which the head slider is mounted on the edgepart, is a head gimbal assembly (will also be referred to as HGA).

Further, recording and reproducing of data to/from the recording mediumis performed by flying the head slider from a surface of the recordingmedium while rotating the recording medium, in the hard disk drive.

On the other hand, it has become difficult to control a position of thethin-film magnetic head accurately by control with only a voice coilmotor (VCM), because heightening a recording density of the recordingmedium has developed in company with increase of a capacity of the harddisk drive. Therefore formerly, a technology, which an actuator havingsupplementary function (a supplementary actuator) is mounted on the HGAin addition to a main actuator with the VCM, and the supplementaryactuator controls a minute position that is not able to be controlled bythe VCM, is known.

A technology, which the main actuator and the supplementary actuatorcontrol the position of the thin-film magnetic head, is also called twostage actuator system (dual-stage system).

In the two stage actuator system, the main actuator makes drive armsrotate to decide a position of the head slider on a specific track ofthe recording medium. Further, the supplementary actuator adjusts theposition of the head slider minutely so that the position of thethin-film magnetic head may become an optimum position.

A micro actuator using a thin-film piezoelectric-material element isknown formerly as the supplementary actuator. The thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element has a piezoelectric-material and a pairof electrodes formed to sandwich the piezoelectric-material, and each ofthem is formed to be a thin-film shape.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In case of the conventional thin-film piezoelectric-material element,the piezoelectric-material film, made of the piezoelectric-material, issometimes formed by the size which is equal to the lower electrode film,and the upper electrode film is sometimes formed by the size which isequal to the piezoelectric-material film (see for example, U.S. Pat. No.9,646,637 (also referred to as Patent document 1)).

On the other hand, concerning the conventional thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element, the side surface of thepiezoelectric-material film is sometimes processed into a taper-shaped(see for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,208 (also referred to as Patentdocument 2), U.S. Pat. No. 8,342,660 (also referred to as Patentdocument 3), U.S. Pat. No. 6,351,057 (also referred to as Patentdocument 4), U.S. Pat. No. 9,375,923 (also referred to as Patentdocument 5) and so on). Further, the side surface of thepiezoelectric-material film is sometimes processed into the step-shaped(see, for example U.S. Pat. No. 7,935,264 (also referred to as Patentdocument 6).

In these prior arts, the size of the piezoelectric-material film islarger than the size of the upper electrode film, the size of the lowerelectrode film is larger than the size of the piezoelectric-materialfilm.

However, in these thin-film piezoelectric-material element, there is afollowing problem based on the size difference among the upper electrodefilm, the piezoelectric-material film and the lower electrode film.

Here, as illustrated in FIG. 27, the problem will be explained exemplaryconcerning the thin-film piezoelectric-material element 300, having thepiezoelectric-material film 301, the upper electrode film 302, the lowerelectrode film 303, and which the piezoelectric-material film 301, theupper electrode film 302 and the lower electrode film 303 are formedequally about their film sizes.

Then, when voltage is applied to the piezoelectric-material element 300,as illustrated in FIG. 27, positive or negative charges emerge near thesurface of the piezoelectric-material film 301 to cause deformation ofthe piezoelectric-material film 301.

However, as illustrated in FIG. 28, in case of thepiezoelectric-material element 310, having the upper electrode film 304smaller than the piezoelectric-material film 301, voltage is hardlyapplied to the outside-parts 301 a, 301 b, of the piezoelectric-materialfilm 301 of the upper electrode film 304 side, situated outside of theupper electrode film 304. Then, charges, emerged in the outside-parts301 a, 301 b, hardly follow change of the polarity of voltage,therefore, charges easily remain in the outside-parts 301 a, 301 b. Whencharges remain in the outside-parts 301 a, 301 b, thepiezoelectric-material film 301 easily charges static electricity.Electric failure sometimes occurs around the thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element by that static electricity. Such aproblem also occurs in the case, which the thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element 310 has the piezoelectric-material film311, as illustrated in FIG. 29. Because the side surface of thepiezoelectric-material film 311 is processed into the taper-shaped, andcharges easily remain in the outside-part 311 a, situated outside of theupper electrode film 304.

The present invention is made to solve the above problem, and it is anobject to obtain the piezoelectric-material film having a structurewhich hardly charges static electricity and maintain a performance ofthe thin-film piezoelectric-material element as much as possible, evenif there is a size difference among the upper electrode film, thepiezoelectric-material film and the lower electrode film, in thethin-film piezoelectric-material element, method of manufacturing thethin-film piezoelectric-material element, head gimbal assembly and harddisk drive.

To solve the above problem, the present invention is a thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element including: a laminated structure partcomprising a lower electrode film, a piezoelectric-material filmlaminated on the lower electrode film and an upper electrode filmlaminated on the piezoelectric-material film; a lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-film being formed with alloy material;and an upper piezoelectric-material protective-film being formed withalloy material, the piezoelectric-material film including: a film-sizelarger than the upper electrode film; and a riser end-surface and astep-surface, formed on a top-surface of the upper electrode film side,the riser end-surface connects smoothly with a peripheral end-surface ofthe upper electrode film and vertically intersects with the top-surface,the step-surface intersects vertically with the riser end-surface, thelower piezoelectric-material protective-film and the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film are formed to sandwich thelaminated structure part, respectively in the lower side of the lowerelectrode film and the upper side of the upper electrode film, the lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-film and the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film are formed with alloy materialincluding Fe as main ingredient and having Co and Mo, by Ion beamdeposition.

Further, the present invention provides a thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element including: a laminated structure partcomprising a lower electrode film, a piezoelectric-material filmlaminated on the lower electrode film and an upper electrode filmlaminated on the piezoelectric-material film; a lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-film being formed with alloy material;an upper piezoelectric-material protective-film being formed with alloymaterial, a surface layer insulating film, which are disposed on theside surfaces of the laminated structure part, the lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-film and the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film and on the top-surface of theupper piezoelectric-material protective-film, and which a through holeis formed; and a lower electrode pad being directly in contact with anexposed surface, of the lower electrode film, exposed inside the throughhole, the piezoelectric-material film including: a film-size larger thanthe upper electrode film; and a riser end-surface and a step-surface,formed on a top-surface of the upper electrode film side, the riserend-surface connects smoothly with a peripheral end-surface of the upperelectrode film and vertically intersects with the top-surface of thepiezoelectric-material film, the step-surface intersects vertically withthe riser end-surface, the lower piezoelectric-material protective-filmand the upper piezoelectric-material protective-film are formed tosandwich the laminated structure part, respectively in the lower side ofthe lower electrode film and the upper side of the upper electrode film,the lower piezoelectric-material protective-film and the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film are formed with alloy materialincluding Fe as main ingredient and having Co and Mo, by Physical VaporDeposition.

The present invention will be more fully understood from the detaileddescription given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which aregiven by way of illustration only, and thus are not to be considered aslimiting the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a whole of the HGA, from frontside, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a principal part of the HGA fromfront side;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a principal part of the suspensionconstituting the HGA in FIG. 1 from front side;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a part, which a thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element is fixed, of a flexure with enlargement;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the thin-film piezoelectric-materialelement and the peripheral part of the HGA;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 7-7 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line 8-8 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line 9-9 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 (a) is a perspective view showing whole of the thin-filmpiezoelectric-material substrate, which are used for manufacturing thethin-film piezoelectric-material element according to the embodiment ofthe present invention, FIG. 10 (b) is a plan view showing the surface ofthe thin-film piezoelectric-material substrate after forming of elementregions with enlargement;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along the line 11-11 in FIG. 10 (b);

FIG. 12 is a sectional view, partially omitted, showing a thin-filmslaminated part forming step and a laminated structure part forming step;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view, partially omitted, showing a manufacturingstep of the laminated structure part forming step subsequent to that inFIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view, partially omitted, showing manufacturingstep subsequent to that in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view, partially omitted, showing manufacturingstep subsequent to that in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a sectional view, partially omitted, showing manufacturingstep subsequent to that in FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a sectional view, partially omitted, showing manufacturingstep subsequent to that in FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a sectional view, partially omitted, showing a surface layerinsulating film forming step;

FIG. 19 (a) is a sectional view, partially omitted, showing an elementregion forming step, FIG. 19 (b) is a sectional view, partially omitted,showing a manufacturing step subsequent to that in FIG. 19 (a);

FIG. 20 is a sectional view showing the state before forming the elementregion, corresponding to FIG. 11;

FIG. 21 is a graph showing change of stroke of the thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element with the passage of time;

FIG. 22 is a perspective view showing the piezoelectric-material film,an upper diffusion-barrier-film, the upper electrode film, an upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film according to the embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 23 is a perspective view showing the piezoelectric-material film,the upper diffusion-barrier-film, the upper electrode film, the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film according to a modified example;

FIG. 24 is a perspective view showing the piezoelectric-material film,the upper diffusion-barrier-film, the upper electrode film, the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film according to another modifiedexample;

FIG. 25 is a perspective view showing the piezoelectric-material film,partially omitted, according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 26 is a perspective view showing a hard disk drive equipped withthe HGA according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 27 is a perspective view showing the conventional thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element having the piezoelectric-material film,the upper electrode film, the lower electrode film, formed equally intheir size and a power source;

FIG. 28 is a perspective view showing the conventional thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element having the upper electrode film, smallerthan the piezoelectric-material film and the power source; and

FIG. 29 is a perspective view, partially omitted, showing theconventional thin-film piezoelectric-material element having thepiezoelectric-material film, which the side surface is processed intothe taper-shaped and the upper electrode film and the power source.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In the following, embodiments of the present invention will be describedwith reference to the drawings. Note that the same components will bereferred to with the same numerals or letters, while omitting theiroverlapping descriptions.

(Structure of HGA)

To begin with, a structure of the HGA according to the embodiment of thepresent invention will be explained with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4.Here, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a whole of the HGA 91, fromfront side, according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2is a perspective view showing a principal part of the HGA 91 from frontside. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a principal part of thesuspension 50 constituting the HGA 91 from front side.

Further, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a part, which a thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element 12 b is fixed, of a flexure 6 withenlargement.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the HGA 91 has the suspension 50 and a headslider 60. The suspension 50 has a base plate 2, a load beam 3, theflexure 6 and a dumper not illustrated, and it has a structure whichthese parts are joined to be united one body by a weld and so on.

The base plate 2 is a part which is used to fix the suspension 50 to adrive arms 209 of a later-described hard disk drive 201, and it isformed with a metal such as stainless steel or the like.

The load beam 3 is fixed on the base plate 2. The load beam 3 has ashape in which the width gradually decreases as it is distanced morefrom the base plate 2. The load beam 3 has a load bending part whichgenerates a power for pressing the head slider 60 against thelater-described hard disk 202 of the hard disk drive 201.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, the flexure 6 has a flexuresubstrate 4, a base insulating layer 5, a connecting wiring 81 andthin-film piezoelectric-material elements 12 a, 12 b. The flexure 6 hasa structure which the base insulating layer 5 is formed on the flexuresubstrate 4, the connecting wiring 81 and thin-filmpiezoelectric-material elements 12 a, 12 b are adhered on the baseinsulating layer 5. Further, the not illustrated protective insulatinglayer is formed so as to cover the connecting wiring 81 and thin-filmpiezoelectric-material elements 12 a, 12 b.

The flexure 6 has piezoelectric-material elements attached structurewhich thin-film piezoelectric-material elements 12 a, 12 b are fixed onthe surface of the base insulating layer 5 in addition to the connectingwiring 81 to become a structure with piezoelectric-material element.

Further, the flexure 6 has a gimbal part 90 on the tip side (load beam 3side). A tongue part 19, which the head slider 60 is mounted, is securedon the gimbal part 90, and a plurality of connecting pads 20 are formednear an edge side than the tongue part 19. Connecting pads 20 areelectrically connected to not-illustrated electrode pads of the headslider 60.

This flexure 6 expands or shrinks thin-film piezoelectric-materialelements 12 a, 12 b and expands or shrinks stainless part (referred toout trigger part) jut out outside of the tongue part 19. That makes aposition of the head slider 60 move very slightly around not-illustrateddimple, and a position of the head slider 60 is controlled minutely.

The flexure substrate 4 is a substrate for supporting a whole of theflexure 6, and it is formed with stainless. Rear side of the flexuresubstrate 4 is fixed to the base plate 2 and the load beam 3 by weld. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, the flexure substrate 4 has a center part 4 afixed to surfaces of the load beam 3 and the base plate 2, and a wiringpart 4 b extending to outside from the base plate 2.

The base insulating layer 5 covers s surface of the flexure substrate 4.The base insulating layer 5 is formed with for example polyimide, and ithas a thickness of about 5 μm to 10 μm. Further, as illustrated indetail in FIG. 3, a part of the base insulating layer 5, disposed on theload beam 3, is divided two parts. One part of them is a first wiringpart 5 a, the other part of them is second wiring part 5 b. Thethin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 a and thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element 12 b are adhered on surfaces of eachwiring part.

A plurality of connecting wirings 81 are formed on surfaces of each ofthe first wiring part 5 a and the second wiring part 5 b. Eachconnecting wiring 81 is formed with conductor such as copper or thelike. One end parts of each connecting wiring 81 are connected to thethin-film piezoelectric-material elements 12 a, 12 b or each connectingpad 20.

The not-illustrated protective insulating layer is formed with forexample polyimide. The protective insulating layer has a thickness ofabout 1 μm to 2 μm, for example.

Further, a not illustrated thin-film magnetic head, which records andreproduces data, is formed on the head slider 60. Furthermore, aplurality of not illustrated electrode pads are formed on the headslider 60, and each electrode pad is connected to the connecting pad 20.

(Structure of Thin-Film Piezoelectric-Material Element)

Subsequently, the structure of thin-film piezoelectric-material element12 b will be explained with reference to FIG. 5 to FIG. 9. Here, FIG. 5is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 in FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a planview showing the thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b and theperipheral part of the HGA 91. FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken alongthe line 7-7 in FIG. 6, FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line8-8 in FIG. 6. FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line 9-9 inFIG. 6. Note that the connecting electrode 18 b is omitted in FIGS. 6-8for convenience of illustration.

The thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b (similar to thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element 12 a), as illustrated in FIG. 5-FIG. 9,has a laminated structure part 21, a lower piezoelectric-materialprotective-film 14, an upper piezoelectric-material protective-film 24,a surface layer insulating film 22, an upper electrode pad 44A, a lowerelectrode pad 44B and an adhesive resin layer 28. In the thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element 12 b, the lower piezoelectric-materialprotective-film 14 and the upper piezoelectric-material protective-film24 are formed to sandwich the laminated structure part 21.

The thin-film piezoelectric-material elements 12 b, 12 a are adhered tothe surface of the base insulating layer 5 with epoxy resin. A resinlayer 29, made of the epoxy resin, and a support layer 30 (for exampleSiO₂) are formed between the thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12b and the base insulating layer 5.

The thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b is formed with arectangular shape in a plan view, as illustrated in FIG. 6. A pad region25 is secured at one side along with a long-side direction of thethin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b. The pad region 25 is aregion from a boundary line 22 e, of a top disposed part 22 a and a sidedisposed part 22 b of the later-described surface layer insulating film22, to the upper electrode pad 44A and the lower electrode pad 44B. Anupper through hole 23A, a lower through hole 23B, the upper electrodepad 44A and the lower electrode pad 44B are formed in the pad region 25.

Note that “upper” and “lower” in the present invention do not shownecessarily upper side, lower side in a condition which the thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element is adhered on the base insulating layer5. These words are terms for reasons of convenience so as to distinguishtwo upper, lower electrode films 21 b, 21 c and so on opposing eachother sandwiching the piezoelectric-material film 13 between them. Inthe actual products, the upper electrode film 27 is sometimes disposedlower side, and the lower electrode film 17 is sometimes disposed upperside.

The laminated structure part 21 has a piezoelectric-material film 13, alower electrode film 17 and an upper electrode film 27. Thepiezoelectric-material film 13 is laminated on the lower electrode film17, the upper electrode film 27 is laminated on thepiezoelectric-material film 13. The laminated structure part 21 has alaminated structure formed of the piezoelectric-material film 13, thelower electrode film 17 and the upper electrode film 27. Besides, thelaminated structure part 21 further has a lower diffusion-barrier-film16 a, laminated between the lower electrode film 17 and thepiezoelectric-material film 13, and an upper diffusion-barrier-film 16b, laminated between the upper electrode film 27 and thepiezoelectric-material film 13.

The piezoelectric-material film 13 is formed to be a thin-film shapeusing a piezoelectric-material made of lead zirconate titanate, shown bygeneral formula Pb (Zr_(x)Ti_((1-x))) O₃ (referred to also as “PZT” inthe following). The piezoelectric-material film 13 is an epitaxial filmformed by epitaxial growth, and for example it has a thickness of about1 μm-5 μm. Further, the piezoelectric-material film 13 is sputter filmformed by sputtering.

The piezoelectric-material film 13 will be explained in detail withreference to FIG. 22, FIG. 25 in addition to FIG. 7 to FIG. 9. Thepiezoelectric-material film 13 has a film-size (size of a planedirection) larger than the upper electrode film 27. However, riserend-surfaces 13 a 1-13 a 4, step-surfaces 13 b 1-13 b 4 are formed on atop-surface 13 t of the upper electrode film 27 side, the peripheralpart of the top-surface 13 t connect smoothly with a peripheralend-surface 27 t of the upper electrode film 27.

Then, the riser end-surfaces 13 a 1, 13 a 2, 13 a 3, 13 a 4 of thepiezoelectric-material film 13 connect smoothly with a sequentialperipheral end-surface 41 t, illustrated in FIG. 22, and they verticallyintersect with the top-surface 13 t. The riser end-surfaces 13 a 1, 13 a2, 13 a 3, 13 a 4 form a flat surface together with the sequentialperipheral end-surface 41 t.

The sequential peripheral end-surfaces 41 t is a flat surface includinga peripheral end-surface 16 bt of the upper diffusion-barrier-film 16 b,the peripheral end-surface 27 t of the upper electrode film 27 and aperipheral end-surface 24 t of the upper piezoelectric-materialprotective-film 24, and they are arranged in the four directions of theupper diffusion-barrier-film 16 b, the upper electrode film 27 and theupper piezoelectric-material protective-film 24. The parts with dot inFIG. 22 show the sequential peripheral end-surfaces 41 t. The riserend-surfaces 13 a 1, 13 a 2, 13 a 3, 13 a 4 connect smoothly with notonly the peripheral end-surface 27 t of the upper electrode film 27 butalso the peripheral end-surface 24 t of the upper piezoelectric-materialprotective-film 24.

The step-surfaces 13 b 1, 13 b 2, 13 b 3, 13 b 4 intersect verticallywith the respective riser end-surfaces 13 a 1, 13 a 2, 13 a 3, 13 a 4.

Then, the step-surface 13 b 1, riser end-surface 13 a 1 oppose to thestep-surface 13 b 2, riser end-surface 13 a 2. Besides, the step-surface13 b 3, riser end-surface 13 a 3 oppose to the step-surface 13 b 4,riser end-surface 13 a 4. Further, the step-surface 13 b 1, riserend-surface 13 a 1 and the step-surface 13 b 2, riser end-surface 13 a 2are arranged respectively the both-sides of the long-side direction, ofthe thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b(piezoelectric-material film 13). Further, the step-surface 13 b 3,riser end-surface 13 a 3 and the step-surface 13 b 4, riser end-surface13 a 4 are arranged respectively the both-sides of the short-sidedirection, of the thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b(piezoelectric-material film 13). Accordingly, in thepiezoelectric-material film 13, the riser end-surface and step-surfaceare formed in the both-sides of the long-side direction and theboth-sides of the short-side direction, of the piezoelectric-materialfilm 13.

A piezoelectric ceramics (much of them are ferroelectric substance) suchas barium titanate, lead titanate or the like, non-lead systempiezoelectric ceramics not including titanium or lead are able to beused for the piezoelectric-material film 13 instead of using PZT.

The lower electrode film 17 is a thin-film (thickness about 100 nm) madeof metal element which has Pt (it may include Au, Ag, Pd, Ir, Ru, Cu, inaddition to Pt) as main ingredient, it is formed on the lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-film 14. A crystal structure of thelower electrode film 17 is a face-centered cubic structure.

The upper electrode film 27 is a polycrystal thin-film (thickness about50 nm) with metal element which has Pt (it may include Au, Ag, Pd, Ir,Rh, Ni, Pb, Ru, Cu, in addition to Pt) as main ingredient, it is formedon the upper diffusion-barrier-film 16 b. The upper electrode film 27has a figure which the part under the lower through hole 23B and theperipheral part are lacked (hereinafter, referred also to as “partiallacked figure”), so as not to be in touch with later-described lowerelectrode pad 44B.

The lower diffusion-barrier-film 16 a is a thin-film (thickness about 20nm) made of conductive material, including strontium and ruthenium, suchas SrRuO₃ (also referred SRO) or the like formed by epitaxial growth.The lower diffusion-barrier-film 16 a is formed by sputtering. The lowerdiffusion-barrier-film 16 a is formed on the upper surface of the lowerelectrode film 17 of the piezoelectric-material film 13 side. Thepiezoelectric-material film 13 is formed on the lowerdiffusion-barrier-film 16 a.

The upper diffusion-barrier-film 16 b is a thin-film (thickness about 10nm-35 nm) made of amorphous conductive material, including strontium andruthenium, such as SrRuO₃ (also referred SRO) or the like, and it isformed on the upper surface of the upper electrode film 27 of thepiezoelectric-material film 13 side. The upper diffusion-barrier-film 16b is also formed by sputtering.

The lower piezoelectric-material protective-film 14, upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film 24 are respectively formed on thelower side of the lower electrode film 17, on the upper side of theupper electrode film 27. The lower piezoelectric-materialprotective-film 14, upper piezoelectric-material protective-film 24 arepolycrystal thin-films (thickness about 100 nm) using alloy material.

The lower piezoelectric-material protective-film 14, the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film 24 are formed with alloy materialwhich has iron (Fe) as main ingredient, for example. It is preferablethat crystal structures of the lower piezoelectric-materialprotective-film 14, the upper piezoelectric-material protective-film 24are body-centered cubic structure. It is preferable that the lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-film 14, the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film 24 are formed with alloy materialwhich include Fe and at least any one of Co, Mo, Au, Pt, Al, Cu, Ag, Ta,Cr, Ti, Ni, Ir, Nb, Rb, Cs, Ba, V, W, Ru. Further, it is more preferablethat the lower piezoelectric-material protective-film 14, the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film 24 are formed with alloy materialwhich includes Fe and Co, Mo. The lower piezoelectric-materialprotective-film 14, the upper piezoelectric-material protective-film 24are able to be formed by PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) such as IBD(Ion Beam Deposition), sputtering, Vacuum Evaporation, MBE (MolecularBeam Epitaxy), Ion Plating or the like.

Then, the thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b has a film-sizeextended structure. The film-size extended structure means a structurewhich sizes of a later-described upper film part 40A, middle film part40B and lower film part 40C are extended in that order. Namely, in thethin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b, the size of the middlefilm part 40B is larger than the size of the upper film part 40A, thesize of the lower film part 40C is larger than the size of the middlefilm part 40B. In this embodiment, the upper film part 40A means a partincluding the upper electrode film 27 and the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film 24, the middle film part 40Bmeans a part including the piezoelectric-material film 13, and the lowerfilm part 40C means a part including the lower electrode film 17 andlower piezoelectric-material protective-film 14.

Further, in the thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b, long-sidewidths and short-side widths, about all of the lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-film 14, lower electrode film 17,piezoelectric-material film 13, upper piezoelectric-materialprotective-film 24 and upper electrode film 27, are extended in theorder of the upper film part 40A, middle film part 40B and lower filmpart 40C. In this case, the long-side width means a width along withlong-side direction of the thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12b, short-side width means a width along with short-side direction of thethin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b.

Namely, in the thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b, asillustrated in FIG. 7, when the long-side width of the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film 24 and upper electrode film 27 isL24, the long-side width of the piezoelectric-material film 13 is L13,and long-side width of the lower piezoelectric-material protective-film14 and lower electrode film 17 is L14, L24<L13<L14.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 9, when the short-side width of theupper piezoelectric-material protective-film 24 and upper electrode film27 is W24, the short-side width of the piezoelectric-material film 13 isW13, and short-side width of the lower piezoelectric-materialprotective-film 14 and lower electrode film 17 is W14, W24<W13<W14.

The surface layer insulating film 22 is disposed on the top-surface andside surfaces of four directions of the laminated structure part 21, andit is formed so as to cover the top-surface and side surfaces of fourdirections of the laminated structure part 21. The surface layerinsulating film 22 is formed with insulating material such as polyimideor the like. The surface layer insulating film 22 has a top disposedpart 22 a and a side disposed part 22 b.

The top disposed part 22 a is a part disposed on the top-surface of thelaminated structure part 21. The top disposed part 22 a is formeddirectly on the top-surface 24 ba of the upper piezoelectric-materialprotective-film 24. One end side of the long-side direction of the topdisposed part 22 a is assigned to the pad region 25. The upper throughhole 23A and lower through hole 23B are formed on the top disposed part22 a.

The upper through hole 23A is formed in the pad region 25 of the topdisposed part 22 a. The upper through hole 23A penetrates the topdisposed part 22 a of the surface layer insulating film 22 and the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film 24, as illustrated in FIG. 7. Thetop-surface of the upper electrode film 27 is exposed, inside the upperthrough hole 23A, as an exposed surface 27 b. Further, because the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film 24 is formed with alloy material,a not-illustrated insulating film is formed on a part, through the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film 24, inside the upper through hole23A.

The lower through hole 23B is also formed in the pad region 25 of thetop disposed part 22 a. The lower through hole 23B penetrates the topdisposed part 22 a, similar with the upper through hole 23A, asillustrated in FIG. 8. Because the upper electrode film 27 and the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film 24 are formed with theabove-described partial lacked figure, the top-surface of the lowerelectrode film 17 is exposed, inside the lower through hole 23B, as anexposed surface 17 b.

Then, the upper electrode pad 44A, lower electrode pad 44B arerespectively formed in the upper through hole 23A, lower through hole23B. The upper electrode pad 44A is formed in a rectangularparallelepiped shape. The upper electrode pad 44A is in directly contactwith the exposed surface 27 b of the upper electrode film 27. The lowerelectrode pad 44B is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape. Thelower electrode pad 44B is in directly contact with the exposed surface17 b of the lower electrode film 17. The long-side width of the upperelectrode pad 44A, lower electrode pad 44B are L44, the short-side widthof the upper electrode pad 44A, lower electrode pad 44B are W44.

The side disposed part 22 b is a part disposed on side surfaces of thelaminated structure part 21, the lower piezoelectric-materialprotective-film 14 and upper piezoelectric-material protective-film 24.The side disposed part 22 b has an upper side part 22 a 1, a middle sidepart 22 a 2 and a lower side part 22 a, as illustrated in FIG. 9. Theupper side part 22 a 1 is a part along with the side surface of theupper film part 40A.

The middle side part 22 a 2 is a part along with the side surface of themiddle film part 40B, the lower side part 22 a 3 is a part along withthe side surface of the lower film part 40C.

Further, the surface layer insulating film 22 has a shift-arrangementstructure. The shift-arrangement structure means a structure which theupper side part 22 a 1, the middle side part 22 a 2 and the lower sidepart 22 a 3 are arranged in the positions where they shift to theoutside in order. Further, the surface layer insulating film 22 has steppart 22S1, step part 22S2.

The step parts 22S1, 22S2 are formed based on the size differences, ofsurface layer insulating film 22, of the upper film part 40A, middlefilm part 40B, the lower film part 40C. The step parts 22S1, 22S2project respectively from the upper side part 22 a 1, the middle sidepart 22 a 2 along with the surface of the piezoelectric-material film 13and connect with the middle side part 22 a 2, lower side part 22 a 3.Namely, the part between the upper side part 22 a 1 and the middle sidepart 22 a 2 is the step part 22S1, the part between the middle side part22 a 2 and the lower side part 22 a 3 is the step part 22S2.

The, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the thin-film piezoelectric-materialelement 12 b, having the above-described structure, is connected tosuspension pads 26, 26 with connecting electrodes 18 b (referred to alsoconnecting pad, can be formed with solder, for example). In this case,connecting electrodes 18 b, 18 b connect respective outer end surfacesof the upper, lower electrode pads 44A, 44B to suspension pads 26, 26.

Note that connecting wiring 81 and thin-film piezoelectric-materialelements 12 b, 12 a are shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 4, for illustration ofconvenience, they are not exposed in the surface of the flexure 6,because they are covered with not-illustrated protective insulatinglayer.

(Method of Manufacturing the Thin-Film Piezoelectric-Material Element)

Subsequently, the method of manufacturing the thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element 12 b will be explained with reference toFIG. 10-FIG. 19. Here, FIG. 10 (a) is a perspective view showing wholeof the thin-film piezoelectric-material substrate 1, which are used formanufacturing the thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 baccording to the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 10 (b) is aplan view showing the surface of the thin-film piezoelectric-materialsubstrate 1 after forming of element regions with enlargement. FIG. 11is a sectional view taken along the line 11-11 in FIG. 10 (b). FIG. 12is a sectional view, partially omitted, showing a thin-films laminatedpart forming step and a laminated structure part forming step. FIG. 13is a sectional view, partially omitted, showing a manufacturing step ofthe laminated structure part forming step subsequent to that in FIG. 12.FIG. 14-FIG. 17 are sectional views, partially omitted, showingmanufacturing step respectively subsequent to that in FIG. 13-FIG. 16.FIG. 18 is a sectional view, partially omitted, showing a surface layerinsulating film forming step. FIG. 19 (a) is a sectional view, partiallyomitted, showing an element region forming step, FIG. 19 (b) is asectional view, partially omitted, showing a manufacturing stepsubsequent to that in FIG. 19 (a).

The thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b is manufactured withthe thin-films piezoelectric-material substrate 1. The thin-filmspiezoelectric-material substrate 1 is a substrate for manufacturing thethin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b, and it is manufactured byperforming a substrate manufacturing step. A thin-films laminated partforming step, according to the embodiment, is included in the substratemanufacturing step.

In the substrate manufacturing step, at first, a silicon wafer isprepared. Thermal oxidation is performed for the silicon wafer, therebythe insulating layer 2 a is formed on one side of the silicon wafer.Then, an insulated Si substrate 2 is obtained. A surface of the siliconwafer, of the side which the insulating layer 2 a is formed, is a firstsurface 1 a, and the rear surface is a second surface 1 b.

The insulated Si substrate 2 has, as illustrated in FIG. 11, the siliconwafer, as substrate for deposition, and the insulating layer 2 a made ofSiO₂, formed on the surface.

Then, a thin-films laminated part 3 is formed on the first surface 1 aof the insulated Si substrate 2, by performing a thin-films laminatedpart forming step, as illustrated in FIG. 10 (a). Thereby, thethin-films piezoelectric-material substrate 1 is manufactured. Thethin-films laminated part 3 is formed on the insulating layer 2 a.

The thin-films laminated part forming step has a later-described a lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-layer forming step, a lower electrodelayer forming step, a lower diffusion-barrier-layer forming step, apiezoelectric-material layer forming step, an upperdiffusion-barrier-layer forming step, an upper electrode layer formingstep and an upper piezoelectric-material protective-layer forming step.

In the lower piezoelectric-material protective-layer forming step, asillustrated in FIG. 12, a lower piezoelectric-material protective-layer14L is formed. The lower piezoelectric-material protective-layer 14L isformed with alloy material (for example, alloy material including Fe, Coand Mo) having iron (Fe) as main ingredient, by IBD (Ion BeamDeposition). In this case, resin for adhesive is applied on theinsulating layer 2 a of the insulated Si substrate 2, and the lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-layer 14L is formed with the resin foradhesive. The adhesive resin layer 28 is formed with the resin foradhesive.

Next, the lower electrode layer forming step is performed. In the lowerelectrode layer forming step, epitaxial growth, of metal element whichhas Pt as a main ingredient, is performed on the lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-layer 14L by sputtering. Thisepitaxial growth makes the lower electrode layer 17L.

Next, the lower diffusion-barrier-layer forming step is performed. Inthis step, the lower diffusion-barrier-layer 16 aL is formed with SROfor example, on upper surface of the lower electrode layer 17L bysputtering.

Subsequently, the piezoelectric-material layer forming step isperformed. In this step, as illustrated in FIG. 12, epitaxial growth ofthin-film made of PZT is performed on the lower diffusion-barrier-layer16 aL by sputtering to form the piezoelectric-material layer 13L.

More subsequently, an upper diffusion-barrier-layer forming step isperformed. In this step, the upper diffusion-barrier-layer 16 bL isformed with SRO for example, on the piezoelectric-material layer 13L bysputtering, as illustrated in FIG. 12.

Further, the upper electrode layer forming step is performed. In thisstep, growth of metal material having Pt as main ingredient is performedon the upper diffusion-barrier-layer 16 bL by sputtering to form theupper electrode layer 27L. The upper electrode layer 27L is able to beno-oriented polycrystal film or a preferentially oriented film with the(110) plane, or (111) plane, not epitaxial growth film.

As described above, the lower diffusion-barrier-layer forming step andthe upper diffusion-barrier-layer forming step are performed in thethin-films laminated part forming step. Therefore, thepiezoelectric-material layer 13L is formed on the lower electrode layer17L via the lower diffusion-barrier-layer 16 aL, the upper electrodelayer 27L is formed on the piezoelectric-material layer 13L via theupper diffusion-barrier-layer 16 bL.

After that, the upper piezoelectric-material protective-layer formingstep is performed. In the upper piezoelectric-material protective-layerforming step, the upper piezoelectric-material protective-layer 24L isformed, on the upper electrode layer 27L, with alloy material commonwith the lower piezoelectric-material protective-layer forming step, byIBD (Ion Beam Deposition).

When the thin-films laminated part 3 is formed on the top-surface of theinsulating layer 2 a, by performing the thin-films laminated partforming step as described above, the thin-films piezoelectric-materialsubstrate 1 is manufactured. Each layer from the lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-layer 14L to the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-layer 24L are included in thethin-films laminated part 3, as illustrated in FIG. 12.

Then the laminated structure part forming step is performed subsequentlyto the thin-films laminated part forming step. In the laminatedstructure part forming step, the thin-films laminated part 3 is removedpartially, thereby the above-described laminated structure part 21 isformed.

The laminated structure part forming step is performed for each elementregion 10, as illustrated in FIG. 10(a), FIG. 11. Element regions 10 areformed by dividing the thin-films laminated part 3 regularly inlongitudinal direction and horizontal direction. The thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element 12 b is formed from each element region10. The element regions 10 are separated by gap parts 11, and they areformed by performing later-described element region forming step.

The laminated structure part forming step is able to be performed forplanned-element regions 10A, as illustrated in FIG. 20, which formingthe plural element regions 10 are planned, instead of the elementregions 10 illustrated in FIG. 11. Note that the case, which thelaminated structure part forming step is performed for theplanned-element regions 10A before being divided, is illustrated in FIG.12 to FIG. 18.

A piezoelectric-material protective-film forming step, which the lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-film 14 and the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film 24 are formed, is included in thelaminated structure part forming step. Accordingly, when the laminatedstructure part forming step is performed, the lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-film 14 and the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film 24 are formed together with thelaminated structure part 21.

Further, the laminated structure part forming step has an upperelectrode film forming step and an edge processing step. In the upperelectrode film forming step, the upper electrode film 27 is formed. Inthe edge processing step, the above-described riser end-surfaces 13 a 1,13 a 2, 13 a 3, 13 a 4 and the step-surface 13 b 1, 13 b 2, 13 b 3, 13 b4 of the piezoelectric-material film 13 are formed. The upper electrodefilm forming step and the edge processing step are later-explained indetail.

In the laminated structure part forming step, at first, a cap layer 31,made of alumina (Al₂O₃), is formed on the upper piezoelectric-materialprotective-layer 24L, as illustrated in FIG. 12. Subsequently, asillustrated in FIG. 13, a resist pattern 61 with not-illustratedphotoresist is formed on the cap layer 31. An ion milling or RIE(Reactive Ion Etching) is performed with the resist pattern 61 as a maskto remove the unnecessary parts of the cap layer 31, the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-layer 24L, the upper electrode layer27L and the upper diffusion-barrier-layer 16 bL.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 14, the upper piezoelectric-materialprotective-film 24, the upper electrode film 27 and the upperdiffusion-barrier-film 16 b are respectively formed from the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-layer 24L, the upper electrode layer27L and the upper diffusion-barrier-layer 16 bL. In this case, the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film 24, the upper electrode film 27and the upper diffusion-barrier-film 16 b are formed by the size of theabove-described upper film part 40A.

The ion milling or the like is performed with the resist pattern 61 as amask to form the upper electrode film 27 together with the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film 24 and the upperdiffusion-barrier-film 16 b. In this case, because the upper electrodefilm 27 or the like are formed in the size of the upper film part 40A,the upper electrode film 27 or the like are formed in the size smallerthan the piezoelectric-material film 13 on the piezoelectric-materialfilm 13. Therefore, the ion milling or the like with the resist pattern61 is corresponding to the upper electrode forming step.

Subsequently, not-illustrated resist pattern is used as a mask, apattering, for the piezoelectric-material layer 13L and the lowerdiffusion-barrier-layer 16 aL, is performed to remove unnecessary partsof the piezoelectric-material layer 13L and the lowerdiffusion-barrier-layer 16 aL. Then the piezoelectric-material film 13and the lower diffusion-barrier-film 16 a are formed from thepiezoelectric-material layer 13L and the lower diffusion-barrier-layer16 aL, as illustrated in FIG. 15. In this case, thepiezoelectric-material film 13 and the lower diffusion-barrier-film 16 aare formed by the size of the above-described middle film part 40B.

Next, the edge processing step is performed. In this step, asillustrated in FIG. 17, ion milling is performed with the cap layer 31as a mask. Then, about the upper surface 13 t, of the upper electrodefilm 27 side of the piezoelectric-material film 13, the parts situatedoutside of the upper electrode film 27 are removed. Thereby, theabove-described riser end-surfaces 13 a 1, 13 a 2, 13 a 3, 13 a 4 andthe step-surface 13 b 1, 13 b 2, 13 b 3, 13 b 4 are formed (the riserend-surfaces 13 a 3, 13 a 4 and the step-surface 13 b 3, 13 b 4 areomitted, FIG. 17).

More subsequently, not-illustrated resist pattern is used as a mask, apattering, for the lower electrode layer 17L and the lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-layer 14L, is performed to removeunnecessary parts of the lower electrode layer 17L and the lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-layer 14L. Then the lower electrodefilm 17 and the lower piezoelectric-material protective-film 14 areformed from the lower electrode layer 17L and the lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-layer 14L. In this case, the lowerelectrode film 17 and the lower piezoelectric-material protective-film14 are formed by the size of the above-described lower film part 40C.

The above-described steps are performed to form the laminated structurepart 21. Further, the lower piezoelectric-material protective-film 14and the upper piezoelectric-material protective-film 24 are formed tosandwich the laminated structure part 21.

Then, the upper piezoelectric-material protective-film 24 and the upperelectrode film 27 of the laminated structure part 21, thepiezoelectric-material film 13 of the laminated structure part 21, thelower electrode film 17 of the laminated structure part 21 and the lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-film 14 are respectively formed withthe size of the upper film part 40A, the middle film part 40B, the lowerfilm part 40C. Therefore, the formed upper piezoelectric-materialprotective-film 24, the laminated structure part 21 and lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-film 14 have the above-describedfilm-size extended structure. Further, in each film, both long-sidewidth and short-side width are extended in order of the upper film part40A, the middle film part 40B, the lower film part 40C.

After performing the laminated structure part forming step, RIE(Reactive Ion Etching), with oxygen gas, is performed, to remove theunnecessary part of the adhesive resin layer 28. In this case, asillustrated in FIG. 16, RIE is performed in a state which the cap layer31 remains on the upper piezoelectric-material protective-film 24. Bythis, the upper piezoelectric-material protective-film 24 is protectedso as not to be oxidized. After that, ion-milling or RIE is performed toremove the cap layer 31.

Next, a surface layer insulating film forming step is performed. In thesurface layer insulating film forming step, as illustrated in FIG. 18,the surface layer insulating film 22 is formed with polyimide. Thesurface layer insulating film 22 is arranged on the side surfaces of thelaminated structure part 21, the lower piezoelectric-materialprotective-film 14 and the upper piezoelectric-material protective-film24, and the top-surface of the upper piezoelectric-materialprotective-film 24, in each element region 10 or each planned-elementregion 10A.

In this case, the laminated structure part 21, the lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-film 14 and the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film 24 have the film-size extendedstructure. Therefore, the surface layer insulating film 22 is formed soas to have the above-described shift-arrangement structure and stepparts 22S1, 22S2.

On the other hand, the element region forming step is performed asfollowing. In the element region forming step, at first, not-illustratedphotoresist is applied on the surface of the thin-filmspiezoelectric-material substrate 1 to form a photoresist layer on thethin-films laminated part 3, as illustrated in FIG. 19 (a).Subsequently, a patterning, with not-illustrated photo mask, isperformed to form a resist pattern 38.

After that, ion-milling, RIE or etching is performed for the thin-filmslaminated part 3 with the resist pattern 38 as a mask to removeunnecessary parts of the thin-films laminated part 3 and adhesive resinlayer 28. Then, as illustrated in FIG. 19 (b), the thin-films laminatedpart 3 and adhesive resin layer 28 are divided into the plural elementregion 10 via gap parts 11.

An electrode pad forming step is performed after the element regionforming step. In the electrode pad forming step, unnecessary parts ofthe surface layer insulating film 22 and upper piezoelectric-materialprotective-film 24 are removed by etching to form the upper through hole23A, lower through hole 23B. After that, plating or the like isperformed to form the upper electrode pad 44A, lower electrode pad 44Ain the upper through hole 23A, lower through hole 23B, in each elementregion 10.

In case of HDD, the insulated Si substrate 2 is removed from thethin-films piezoelectric-material substrate 1, by etching or the like.Thereby the plural thin-film piezoelectric-material elements 12 b areformed. For example, the formed thin-film piezoelectric-materialelements 12 b are adhered to the surface of the base insulating layer 5of the HGA 91.

(Operation and Effect of Thin-Film Piezoelectric-Material Element)

In the above-described thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b,the piezoelectric-material film 13 has the film-size larger than theupper electrode film 27.

However, as illustrated in FIG. 25, the piezoelectric-material film 13has the riser end-surfaces 13 a 1, 13 a 2, 13 a 3, 13 a 4 andstep-surfaces 13 b 1, 13 b 2, 13 b 3, 13 b 4 formed on the top-surface13 t (the riser end-surfaces 13 a 2, 13 a 3 and step-surfaces 13 b 3, 13b 3 are omitted in FIG. 25). The piezoelectric-material film 13 has astructure which outside-parts of the top-surface 13 t side, situatedoutside than the upper electrode film 27, do not exist. Namely, in FIG.25, in the piezoelectric-material film 13, the peripheral parts with dotof the top-surface 13 t do not exist in the both-sides of the long-sidedirection and both-sides of the short-side direction.

In the top-surface 13 t, because the upper electrode film 27 does notdirectly contact with the outside-parts, situated outside than the upperelectrode film 27, voltage is hardly applied to the outside-parts. Ifthe outside-parts, situated outside than the upper electrode film 27,exist in the piezoelectric-material film, charge remain easily in theoutside-parts. Accordingly, such piezoelectric-material film easilycharges static electricity.

However, in the thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b, thepiezoelectric-material film 13 has the structure which theoutside-parts, situated outside than the upper electrode film 27, do notexist in the top-surface 13 t. Therefore, the piezoelectric-materialfilm 13 hardly charges static electricity. Accordingly, electric failurenever occurs around the thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b.

Further, in the piezoelectric-material film 13, because theoutside-parts, situated outside than the upper electrode film 27, do notexist in the both-sides of the long-side direction, and the both-sidesof the shot-side direction, occurrence of the static electricity issurely prevented.

On the other hand, in the above-described thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element 12 b, the lower piezoelectric-materialprotective-film 14 and the upper piezoelectric-material protective-film24 are formed to sandwich the laminated structure part 21. Therefore,the piezoelectric-material film 13, included in the laminated structurepart 21, is protected by the lower piezoelectric-materialprotective-film 14 and the upper piezoelectric-material protective-film24. Therefore, the piezoelectric-material film 13 hardly takes the bothdownward pressure and upward pressure.

Because the riser end-surfaces 13 a 1, 13 a 2, 13 a 3, 13 a 4 and thestep-surface 13 b 1, 13 b 2, 13 b 3, 13 b 4 are formed in thepiezoelectric-material film 13, the piezoelectric-material film 13itself has the structure which hardly takes the influence of thepressure.

By the way, the HGA 91, which the thin-film piezoelectric-materialelement 12 b is mounted, is accommodated in the not-illustrated housingof the later-described HDD 201 together with the other parts. Helium gasis filled up into the housing of the HDD 201 with certain pressure.Therefore, the pressured helium gas reaches the HGA 91, and also reachesthe thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b. Then the downwardpressure of the helium gas possibly reaches the piezoelectric-materialfilm 13 via the surface layer insulating film 22. Further, upwardpressure possibly reaches the piezoelectric-material film 13 via theflexure substrate 4, the base insulating layer 5. Because, thepiezoelectric-material film 13 is formed by a thin-film-shaped, thepiezoelectric-material film 13 easily takes both upward pressure anddownward pressure. The piezoelectric-material film 13 possibly causescrooked displacement (not intended displacement).

However, in thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b, the lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-film 14 and the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film 24 are formed to sandwich thelaminated structure part 21. Both the upper surface side and lowersurface side of the piezoelectric-material film 13, which pressurereaches easily, are protected by the upper piezoelectric-materialprotective-film 24 and the lower piezoelectric-material protective-film14. Therefore, pressure of helium gas hardly reaches thepiezoelectric-material film 13. Accordingly, in thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element 12 b, the possibility, which thepiezoelectric-material film 13 cause crooked displacement, is loweredthan the case which the lower piezoelectric-material protective-film 14and the upper piezoelectric-material protective-film 24 are not formed.

Accordingly, in thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b, thepossibility, which characteristic of the piezoelectric-material film 13deteriorates with the passage of time, is lowered, thereby theperformance of the thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b is ableto be maintained as much as possible, even if helium gas is filled upinto the housing or enclosure.

Here, FIG. 21 is a graph showing change of stroke of the thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element with the passage of time. g1 is a graphshowing change of stroke of the conventional thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element, having neither lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-film 14 and the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film 24. g2 is a graph showing changeof stroke of the thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b, havingthe lower piezoelectric-material protective-film 14 and the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film 24.

As illustrated in FIG. 21, in the thin-film piezoelectric-materialelement 12 b, change of stroke is smaller than the conventionalthin-film piezoelectric-material element, almost constant stroke ismaintained with the passage of time. Accordingly, by having the lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-film 14 and the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film 24, the performance of thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element 12 b is able to be maintained as much aspossible.

As described above, the thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 bhas a structure which the performance is hardly lowered even if heliumgas is filled up into the housing or enclosure.

In the HGA 91, in case of the thin-film piezoelectric-material elements12 b, the flexure substrate 4, the base insulating layer 5, other thanthe thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b, are arranged in thelower side of the thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b though,another member than the thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b isnot arranged in the upper side. Therefore, the piezoelectric-materialfilm 13 receives easily influence of the downward pressure from outsidethe surface layer insulating film 22 than the upward pressure.

However, because the thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b hasthe film-size extended structure, each film sizes are extended in orderof the upper piezoelectric-material protective-film 24 to the lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-film 14. Therefore, the downwardpressure, from outside the surface layer insulating film 22, isdispersed easily without concentration. The pressure, reaches thepiezoelectric-material film 13, is also dispersed easily withoutconcentration. Therefore, the possibility, which thepiezoelectric-material film 13 cause crooked displacement, is surelylowered. Accordingly, the possibility, which characteristic of thepiezoelectric-material film 13 deteriorates, is surely lowered. Thepossibility, which the performance of the thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element 12 b deteriorates, is also surelylowered.

Moreover, both long-side widths and short-side widths, about all of theupper piezoelectric-material protective-film 24, the upper electrodefilm 27, the piezoelectric-material film 13, the lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-film 14 and the lower electrode film17, are extended in order of the upper film part 40A, the middle filmpart 40B, the lower film part 40C. Therefore, the pressure, whichreaches the piezoelectric-material film 13, are dispersed entirely,hardly concentrates.

Further, because the surface layer insulating film 22, covering thethin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b, has the step parts 22S1,22S2, influence of the downward pressure reaches not only the topdisposed part 22 a but also the step parts 22S1, 22S2. Therefore, thepressure, which reaches the piezoelectric-material film 13, is dispersedeasily without concentration. Furthermore, because the surface layerinsulating film 22 has the shift arrangement structure, the downwardpressure also reaches the outside than the piezoelectric-material film13, therefore, the downward pressure, which reaches thepiezoelectric-material film 13, is surely lowered.

Because the thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b has the lowerdiffusion-barrier-film 16 a and the upper diffusion-barrier-film 16 b,diffusion barrier strength of the lower electrode film 17, thepiezoelectric-material film 13 and the upper electrode film 27 has beenelevated.

(Modified Example)

In the above-described thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b,the piezoelectric-material film 13 has the structure which outside-partsdo not exist in the both-sides of the long-side direction and theboth-sides of the short-side direction.

The thin-film piezoelectric-material element 12 b is able to have thepiezoelectric-material film 53, illustrated in FIG. 23 instead of thepiezoelectric-material film 13. Further, the thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element 12 b is able to have thepiezoelectric-material film 63, illustrated in FIG. 24 instead of thepiezoelectric-material film 13. The piezoelectric-material film 53 hasthe riser end-surfaces 13 a 1, 13 a 2 and step-surface 13 b 1, 13 b 2,arranged in the both-sides of the long-side direction though, it doesnot have the riser end-surfaces 13 a 3, 13 a 4 and step-surface 13 b 3,13 b 4.

Further, the piezoelectric-material film 63 has the riser end-surfaces13 a 3, 13 a 4 and step-surface 13 b 3, 13 b 4, arranged in theboth-sides of the short-side direction though, it does not have theriser end-surfaces 13 a 1, 13 a 2 and step-surface 13 b 1, 13 b 2.Because both the piezoelectric-material film 53 and thepiezoelectric-material film 63 have the structure which outside-parts donot partially exist, they hardly charge static electricity. Accordingly,electric failure never occurs around the thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element 12 b.

(Embodiments of Hard Disk Drive)

Next, embodiments of the hard disk drive will now be explained withreference to FIG. 21.

FIG. 26 is a perspective view illustrating a hard disk drive 201equipped with the above-mentioned HGA 91. The hard disk drive 201includes a hard disk (magnetic recording medium) 202 rotating at a highspeed and the HGA 91. The hard disk drive 201 is an apparatus whichactuates the HGA 91, so as to record/reproduce data onto/from recordingsurfaces of the hard disk 202. The hard disk 202 has a plurality of (4in the drawing) platters. Each platter has a recording surface opposingits corresponding the head slider 60.

The hard disk drive 201 positions the head slider 60 on a track by anassembly carriage device 203. A thin-film magnetic head, notillustrated, is formed on this head slider 60. Further, the hard diskdrive 201 has a plurality of drive arms 209. The drive arms 209 pivotabout a pivot bearing shaft 206 by means of a voice coil motor (VCM)205, and are stacked in a direction along the pivot bearing shaft 206.Further, the HGA 91 is attached to the tip of each drive arm 209.

Further, the hard disk drive 201 has a control circuit 204 controllingrecording/reproducing.

In the hard disk drive 201, when the HGA 91 is rotated, the head slider60 moves in a radial direction of the hard disk 202, i.e., a directiontraversing track lines.

In case such hard disk drive 201 are formed with the above-describedthin-film piezoelectric-material elements 12 a, 12 b, because thepiezoelectric-material film 13 hardly charges static electricity,electric failure never occurs around the thin-filmpiezoelectric-material element 12 b.

This invention is not limited to the foregoing embodiments but variouschanges and modifications of its components may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. Besides, it is clearthat various embodiments and modified examples of the present inventioncan be carried out on the basis of the foregoing explanation. Therefore,the present invention can be carried out in modes other than theabove-mentioned best modes within the scope equivalent to the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A thin-film piezoelectric-material elementcomprising: a laminated structure part comprising a lower electrodefilm, a piezoelectric-material film laminated on the lower electrodefilm and an upper electrode film laminated on the piezoelectric-materialfilm; a lower piezoelectric-material protective-film being formed withalloy material; an upper piezoelectric-material protective-film beingformed with alloy material, a surface layer insulating film, which aredisposed on the side surfaces of the laminated structure part, the lowerpiezoelectric-material protective-film and the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film and on the top-surface of theupper piezoelectric-material protective-film, and which a through holeis formed; and a lower electrode pad being directly in contact with anexposed surface, of the lower electrode film, exposed inside the throughhole, wherein the piezoelectric-material film comprising: a film-sizelarger than the upper electrode film; and a riser end-surface and astep-surface, formed on a top-surface of the upper electrode film side,wherein the riser end-surface connects smoothly with a peripheralend-surface of the upper electrode film and vertically intersects withthe top-surface of the piezoelectric-material film, wherein thestep-surface intersects vertically with the riser end-surface, whereinthe lower piezoelectric-material protective-film and the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film are formed to sandwich thelaminated structure part, respectively in the lower side of the lowerelectrode film and the upper side of the upper electrode film, whereinthe lower piezoelectric-material protective-film and the upperpiezoelectric-material protective-film are formed with alloy materialincluding Fe as main ingredient and having Co and Mo, by Physical VaporDeposition.